Resident evil 4: When witches meet special agents
by rock-dobby's-socks
Summary: All Hermione wanted was a nice quiet holiday. Instead she gets blood, plaga infested Spaniards and only a gorgeous special agent as company. Things aren't all bad after all. Newly revised to fix errors.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Resident Evil. They belong to J.K Rowling and the lovely people at Capcom. I'm not putting a disclaimer for every chapter, if I did own either of them then I'd publish my fics rather than write here.**

**Currently rated T for language.**

**A/N: You may notice some slight modifications to the story. This is because I now have access to a pc and can therefore fix any mistakes made using the tablet. I have the complete work on my pc and will update frequently.**

Hermione sighed happily as she laid back on the golden sand. It had been a long year, but she could now relax, knowing that there was nothing that could ruin this week. After spending a whole year searching for Horcruxes, breaking into the world's highest security bank, and helping to defeat the biggest threat the wizarding world has ever seen, she felt that she deserved a holiday.

Spain was the perfect place to forget about everything, so that's where she came. Her parents used to take her there during the summer when she was younger, and she was always amazed by the natural beauty of the country. They even had their own holiday home there that Hermione had lent for the week.

As she laid on the beach with her book in her hands, she watched the sunset. It really was so much more beautiful than the sunset she saw at home. Though it was the same one, the foreign atmosphere seemed to enhance it's beauty to no end.

Once the sun had finally sank, and the night began to turn cold, Hermione gave a quick look around to make sure there was nobody there before apparating to the villa. It was a modest, but welcoming place. The rooms were small but cosy, and well kept thanks to the housekeeper that looked after the place while the Grangers were living in England.

Hermione entered the kitchen to find that the fridge and cupboards had been newly filled with fresh food. She made a mental note to visit their housekeeper and thank her. Hermione made herself a plate of toast before settling into the living room to finish reading her book on Spanish wizards and their customs. Though she doubted that she would run into anyone from the magical world during her journey, she was always interested in learning.

It wasn't until late in the night that Hermione fell fast asleep in the armchair she had chosen, book still in her hand.

Hermione had been sleeping quite soundly for most of the night, when a loud bang woke her. The fire she had lit earlier that day was burning dimly, meaning the once warm room was now un unusually cold place. Another bang alerted Hermione to the reason she had awoken. She recognised the sound as a gunshot. Her father had taken her shooting when she was younger, and the sounds she could hear was the unmistakable sound of a shotgun.

She assumed that a wolf had just managed to get too close to town. There were many wolves in the area, though usually quite docile, they sometimes got too out of hand. Though she assumed it was nothing to worry about, she still edged nervously to the window. There she saw a man with dirty blonde hair stood with a gun poised, aiming at a tanned man that had only a pitchfork as defence.

"Petrificus Totalus!" She shouted, running outside with her wand aimed at the blonde with the gun. He fell straight to the floor and she smiled at the man with the pitchfork. Instead of smiling back at her though, he turned to her with his pitchfork raised in a spear-like manner. It was then that she realised the colour of his eyes. Deep crimson red.

"Oh shit," she muttered before raising her wand again and shouting "Locomotor Mortis." The man fell to the ground, but continued to try and attack Hermione with the pitchfork. "I don't want to have to hurt you," she screamed desperately, but the man didn't relent.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "Merlin please forgive me," she said desperately before saying weakly, "Avada Kedavra." A thin wisp of green light fluttered out of her wand before vanishing. She remembered what Harry had told her about the unforgivable curses. You have to mean it. "Avada Kedavra," she said, hoping that the anger and fear she had mustered would be enough emotion to make the curse work. Sure enough, a much stronger beam of green light flew from her wand, causing the man to fall to the ground.

Tears fell from Hermione's eyes as the blank face of the man before her made realization set in. She fell to her knees and touched the man's face when suddenly the man gave a loud groan and started to get back up.

She got to her feet just in time to avoid being speared by the pitchfork. "Immobulus" she cried, and the man froze.

Turning her attention to the blonde man, she quickly chanted "Finite Incantartum" before helping him up quickly.

"You have about a minute to tell me what's going on before I kill you," she told the man, who was looking quite dazed.

"He's been infected with a virus that reanimates dead cells. There's some kind of parasite that lays their eggs in people and can control them. Look, I don't have enough time to explain!" He stopped talking as the other man started to twitch slightly. "Can I just kill him already?"

"I've already tried," said Hermione, casting another immobility spell on the infected man.

"You have to kill the parasite before you can kill him." He aimed two shots straight into the man's head, which popped open revealing a strange tentacle. The man was just about to shoot this new formation when Hermione stopped him.

"You said you have to kill the parasite, yeah? Avada Kedavra." The tentacle stopped moving instantly and the man's body along with the tentacle started to bubble away until there was nothing left.

"What did you just do?" Asked the blonde incredulously.

"I didn't know that there was something inside him I needed to kill," Hermione started. "I was focusing on the man. I'm guessing that the other jinxes worked because the parasite couldn't make something that couldn't move... Well move basically. And that he came back to life because of the parasite? Can they control dead bodies?"

The blonde nodded. "You're quick. I've been here a day now and it's taken me a while to get my head around this."

Hermione smiled slightly before inviting the man into the cottage. Though she didn't know who he was, after a second look she realized he was wearing a police outfit, and if her parents had taught her one thing, it was that the badge that he had emblazoned on his chest showed he was one of the good guys.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I hope you enjoyed chapter one. There aren't enough HP/RE fics on this site, so expect more from me in the future.**

Hermione led Leon into the sitting room, and settled herself down into the armchair she had fallen asleep in. "So what exactly is going on?" She asked gesturing to a seat opposite her own to let him know he could sit down.

"Well I got here about a day ago," started the blonde. "I'm under direct orders from the president to find his daughter and bring her home. It seems she's been captured by the leader of some religious cult. The same one that's been infecting people with Las Plagas."

"Las Plagas?" Asked Hermione. "Is that the parasites?" The man nodded. "And they kidnapped the president's daughter to help spread the infection?"

"That's my guess. I tried asking the locals for some information, but as you probably guessed, they're non too friendly. But it's not just me that has some explaining to do. What did you do to make me fall to the ground like that? And you killed that parasite with some... Stick. How?"

Hermione blushed. She wasn't supposed to reveal magic to muggles, but this case was an exception. If there were more people like that, people that had kidnapped a poor young girl, she was going to help this man find her, and that would mean using magic. "Well I'm not supposed to tell anyone this but... I'm a witch. Not like the evil fairytale kind, we actually have our own communities. Of course there's some bad ones, just like there are regular bad people. But the most of us are regular people that have magical abilities."

"So are there warlocks too?" Asked the blonde man.

Hermione laughed. "Yeah there are, but they're called wizards. We never expose ourselves to non magical people unless we have to, like this morning for example."

"Sorry about you being woken up so early by the way." The man looked at her apologetically but Hermione shrugged it off.

"Don't worry about it, could you imagine if he broke in and killed me. It was nice to have some warning. By the way, I don't actually know your name. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Leon Kennedy," the man smiled back.

"Well Mr. Kennedy," said Hermione smiling. "Do you fancy some breakfast? If we're going on a rescue mission we're going to need it."

"I'd love some, but there's no we. I can't have you endangering your life for the sake of my mission."

Hermione led him into the kitchen and proceeded to start getting food out. "Trust me. Compared to Voldemort, this is going to be easy."

"Voldemort?" Asked Leon, staring at Hermione who was currently placing bacon into a large frying pan.

"I'll tell you all about him at breakfast. Why don't you go for a shower. We might not get chance for a while."

After breakfast Hermione started packing, as Leon watched incredulously as she managed to fit about half the cottage into a tiny bag. "It's a good thing I got the housekeeper to stock up on food for my holiday. I don't imagine there'll be many places we could get some food from what you've said about the current Spanish hospitality."

Leon laughed. "I suppose having a witch with me is going to make things a lot easier. But isn't that going to be heavy."

"Not after I've cast a weightlessness charm," she said smiling. "Can you think of anything else we might need?"

"Yeah. An army's worth of ammo if she's as well guarded as I'm assuming. Don't suppose you have any spells for that do you?"

"Actually I might," she said causing Leon to look at her in amazement. "Witches and wizards don't normally bother with muggle weapons but I brought some light reading with me and..." Hermione rummaged through her bag before pulling out a thick leather book.

"You call that light? It looks more like an encyclopaedia to me." Leon commented.

"It's how I relax." She commented. "There's a section here about how to transfigure guns but nothing about... Ah, there's some charms here to stop them running out. I just need..."

Hermione ran out of the room, book in hand, leaving Leon stood confused. He noticed she talked a lot, but not in such a girly manner that bored him. In fact, he felt as though he could listen to her for hours.

His train of thought was interrupted by Hermione shouting him through. When he reached the sitting room he stared in amazement at what lay on the table in front of him.

"Is that a rocket launcher?" He asked in amazement. "And a Chicago Typewriter, oh my God Hermione. Why can't I have you around for all my missions?"

Hermione smiled. "I'm glad you like them. Let me just go and get the first aid kit from the bathroom and then-" She was interrupted by a loud crashing sound. "Why do I get the feeling you'll be testing out those guns sooner rather than later?"

A demonic looking woman with the same evil red eyes as the man from earlier that morning came running into the room, wielding a knife.

Leon wasted no time in grabbing a gun from the table and firing several rounds into the woman's chest. She fell to the ground and started to melt away.

"How did you know where the parasite was?" Asked Hermione while another crash echoed around the house.

"Luck," shouted Leon, who could barely be heard over the top of his gun.

Soon the house was swarming with infested Spaniards. Leon and Hermione however made quick work of them. Now Hermione knew what she needed to kill, she managed to destroy the parasites quickly using the killing curse.

When the house became deadly silent Hermione ran up to the bathroom, grabbed all the medical supplies she could find, and headed back down.

"I think we best be off, they know where we are now." Hermione nodded, shoving the items into the bag before pulling it over her shoulder and leaving the house with Leon.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N This was originally a short chapter that I'd written at about 3am. Now it's been revised, so it's slightly longer and has had mistakes fixed.**

They had only ran into a few villagers so far, which relieved Hermione to no end. Though they had proven easy to kill, Hermione felt terrible knowing they were probably just innocent people that were being controlled by the plagas.

Their biggest problem was when they ran into a village elder named Bitores Mendez. He had attacked them in a small house not far from Hermione's villa. He had said something about Leon carrying the same blood as him, and that Hermione would also carry it one day. Leon was just as puzzled as Hermione about this revelation. "I think he's just trying to worry us," Leon told her once the man had left.

Hermione wasn't so convinced, but had little time to ponder the information the elder had given them, as when they left, they encountered a man with a large sack over his head, wielding a chainsaw. He wasn't too difficult to take down. Leon had simply aimed his rocket launcher at the man, and he fell dead in seconds, along with several other Spaniards.

From there, they entered a graveyard which only held a few infected. One of them had tried to get rough with Hermione, and ended up splattered against the doors to a small church. "Thanks Leon!" Hermione had shouted, before looking up at the building in front of her. "Hey, didn't you say that Ashley was being held in a church?" Hermione tried Alohamora but it worked to no avail. The door needed some kind of tablet to be inserted for it to open.

They didn't have to keep walking for long until they ran into more trouble however. While walking down a steep hill, a rumbling noise alerted the pair to a large boulder that was tumbling steadily towards them. "Grab my hand," shouted Leon.

Hermione complied instantly and felt herself being pulled sideways. She watched as the rock continued down the hill before smashing when it reached the bottom.

"Are you ok?" Asked Leon in a worried voice. Hermione nodded but wrapped her arms tightly around Leon's neck. He held her in his arms for a few minutes, trying to keep her calm. "You're ok, I won't let anything hurt you."

At his words, Hermione seemed to realize what she was doing and went to move away. Leon held her firmly though, and told her she didn't need to be embarrassed of being scared. He smiled down at her, moving a stray hair that had fallen across her face. He took her face in his hand and lifted her head up so he could look in her eyes. "Do you want to keep on going now?" He asked in a voice that held not even the subtlest hint of pressure.

"Let's go," she said before getting to her feet and walking quickly down the hill. The sooner she was away from there, the better.

"Wait for me," Leon laughed before standing up himself and jogging to catch up with her. When they reached the bottom of the hill they saw a large swamp in front of them.

"Urgh," muttered Hermione. "This place is spooky."

"And probably littered with infected. Let me just have a look..." He pulled out his rocket launcher and used the scope to take a look around. After a moment, he pulled the trigger causing a huge explosion in the distance. "I sure could get used to having an infinite supply of these," he laughed.

"Hey look, I think you just encouraged them over here," said Hermione who was smiling. "This way they can't sneak up on us. They're just like cattle."

"That was the intention," smiled Leon. "I took out most of them but everyone else will just line up for us to kill them." He started to shoot at a couple of men, who fell down almost instantly.

Once there was no sound left in the water, Leon and Hermione waded their way through, exiting through a pair of big wooden doors.

"I'm so glad we're out of there," commented Hermione who had stopped and had started digging through her bag.

"You were scared of a swamp but you didn't mind when we were walking through that graveyard." He laughed before adding, "women."

Hermione glared at him jokingly before handing him a clean set of clothing. I hope you don't mind me packing some of my dad's clothing for you but you're around the same build.

"Nah," he said, taking them and instantly pulling his old top off. Hermione couldn't help but stare as she took in his topless form. He was very toned, but not so much as for it to be repulsing.

"Enjoying the view?" Asked Leon jokingly.

Hermione lifted her gaze and blushed furiously. "I'm sorry." It was all she could think of to say.

"Don't worry. I'm sure I'll return the favour when it's your turn," he said playfully. Hermione slapped him gently before he said "just kidding." He turned around so Hermione could change.

Hermione pulled a pair of jeans and a tight lightweight t-shirt. "there," she said smiling. "All better." When they were both done they continued walking before stopping and taking in the sight of a murky looking lake.

"You have got to be kidding me," said Hermione in a sad voice. "I just changed!"


	4. Chapter 4

They made their way towards the water's edge, where Hermione breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the boat. "At least we don't have to swim," she said happily, climbing into the back of the boat.

"I wouldn't have swam across it if it was the only option." Replied Leon darkly. "I have a feeling there's more than just fish down there."

Hermione cringed. She had never thought that there might be another trap waiting for them. "You take the front of the boat and make sure that if anything does attack us, that you take care of it. I'll steer this thing."

"You know how to power a boat? Hermione is there anything you can't do?" Leon asked in awe.

Hermione shrugged, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "I've known for years. It's quite simple really. You just need to pull this, and..." The engine gave a low reverberating noise. "Where are we headed? That small opening over there?"

Leon nodded and Hermione took off. They were just getting close to the opening as there was a loud splash, and a giant fish-like creature with too many teeth came bobbing towards them.

"Just when I was thinking we'd got across safe," Hermione said bitterly. "How about you shoot, and I'll make sure we don't crash."

"Sounds like a plan," said Leon, who was already starting to fire on the monster. When it realized what Leon was doing however, it dove underwater.

"I don't like this," Hermione commented nervously. She gazed around the lake looking for some sign of the beast, when she noticed a dark shadow headed straight towards them. "Shit!" She shouted, as she turned the boat just in time to avoid the large jaw of monster, that had risen from the water.

"That was close," shouted Leon, who had started to fire on the re-emerged creature.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. From then on, she watched the monster's movement like a hawk, but the battle was becoming tirelessly unrelenting. She quickly scanned her eyes around the boat, looking for something that might help. That was when her eyes locked onto something large an and metallic. "Leon," she said in a manner that was far too happy for someone being chased by a giant fish.

"What?" He asked, his voice laced with concentration. Hermione merely passed Leon the harpoon and he understood. Taking aim, he threw the weapon straight into the fish's back, and it gave a sickening yelp. With one final attempt, it took a weak swim towards the boat before falling to the lake floor.

All of a sudden Leon stumbled, and started swiping his knife at a rope that had wrapped itself around his leg pulling him down towards the water.

His knife was having little effect, so Hermione pulled out her wand. "Relashio," she uttered, pointing it straight at Leon's leg. The rope instantly came free, before falling straight into the water.

"Must have caught on that fish," Leon said in an exhausted voice. "Look, there's a little cabin over there. Maybe we should rest there for a while."

Hermione nodded, steering the boat over to a small pier. When they disembarked, Leon checked inside the cabin for anyone. "It's safe," he said happily. "Although I can't say for how long."

"Don't worry about that," said Hermione who was walking around the cabin, chanting some kind of spell. "Take my bag and try and find something for supper would you? I'll meet you in there in a minute."

Leon shrugged and headed inside. After pulling out all the food, which in Leon's opinion was enough to feed a small army, he decided to make them an omelette each using the eggs, cheese and some pre-cooked meat.

When Hermione entered the cabin her stomach grumbled at the smell. "Hungry eh?" Asked Leon cheerfully. "Sit yourself down and I'll bring everything over in a second."

Hermione sat at the small dining table, shortly joined by Leon. He slid a plate towards her and she smiled. "It looks delicious," she commented. It was nice to have someone cook for her for a change. When she was away with Harry and Ron last year she was always the one in charge of cooking.

"So what did you do outside then? Something to keep them away?"

Hermione nodded before saying, "yeah. Anyone who tries to come in will suddenly forget why they wanted to and leave. We're invisible to anyone out there. They can't hear or see us, so we're pretty safe until we need to leave."

"You honestly are amazing Hermione," beamed Leon happily.

"Thanks," she replied, blushing slightly. "By the way, what do you want to do about sleeping arrangements? I could duplicate the bed but there isn't really enough room."

Leon thought for a moment before saying, "I don't mind sharing as long as you don't steal the covers."

Hermione laughed. "I'll try my best not to," she commented. "But you better not snore."

It was Leon's turn to laugh. "Nobody's ever told me I do, so I think you'll be fine."

As they made their way over to the bed, Hermione discarded her jeans and climbed in first. Leon arched an eyebrow before she said that she "can't sleep with that many clothes on."

Leon nodded. "I'm the same. It was just unexpected that's all." He stripped down to his boxers, and Hermione managed to look away after only a quick glance this time, although the sight made her melt. "That's the second time I've caught you looking now," he said in a joking voice.

"Sorry, she replied sleepily before drifting off to sleep.

Leon woke up with a start as he heard Hermione's screams. He looked around the dimly lit room before realizing she was still in bed.

"Hermione," he said gently as the girl started writhing about on the bed. "Mione," he called, louder this time. "Mione, wake up," he said giving her a soft shake.

The girl's eyes flashed open and Leon could see the tears that were forming. "Bad dream?" He asked and Hermione nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head.

"Just hold me?" She asked in a mere whisper, and Leon pulled her close, wrapping his arms tightly around her. After about ten minutes of silently shaking, Hermione began to talk again. "I was dreaming that Voldemort was still alive… That he was the one controlling the parasites."

"You said that your friend killed him though," Leon said reassuringly. "He can't hurt you now."

Hermione frowned. "The amount of times Harry's defeated Voldemort, it wouldn't surprise me if he found another way to come back." She nestled herself in Leon's arms and gave a small yawn.

"Do you want to go to sleep like this?" He asked, looking down in time to see her nod. "Ok then, try and have some good dreams this time," he said before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Thank you Leon," she said quietly before closing her eyes and drifting off again.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N No zombies this time (I know they're not really zombies but a Resident Evil game without zombies is just… Wrong). Just a short chapter I put in to develop the relationship between Hermione and Leon. This fic is listed as romance, so expect the occasional fluff chapter.**

Hermione woke up to the comforting feel of a warm body pressed against hers. She looked up to see the smiling face of Leon looking down at her. "Morning sleepyhead."

"Morning," replied Hermione tiredly. "You know you didn't have to wait for me to get up," she said, wondering how long he had been awake.

"Actually I did," he said smiling. "When I tried to get up to go to the bathroom you clung on to me and didn't let me go."

Hermione suddenly felt embarrassed. "I'm so sorry," she started but Leon just shook his head telling her not to apologise.

"It was nice having someone to hold. People never really see me as the settling down type, so when I try they usually run off. I can never keep a relationship for more than five minutes. It was nice to have someone not wanting me to leave them for a change."

Hermione looked up at his sad smile and felt bad for the man. Though she didn't know him that well, he seemed like someone that would make the perfect boyfriend. He was caring, funny, gorgeous...

"Hermione?" Asked Leon, and she snapped out of her thoughts straight away.

"Sorry, what did you say?" She asked blushing deeply.

"I just said that I was going to the loo, do you mind starting breakfast?" Hermione shook her head and put her jeans back on, that were still laid on the floor where they had been left last night.

She looked up and saw Leon getting dressed himself. She quickly looked away, not wanting to get caught staring for the third time. Most of the food she had packed was still on the counter, Leon obviously wasn't as good at tidying as he was cooking.

She scanned the food items wondering what she should make. Since he had made an omelette last night she assumed something else with eggs would be the safest bet. As she started breaking eggs into a pan she couldn't help wonder what Leon was doing right now. He was taking his time.

Leon sat by the waters edge, splashing water into his face to try and clear his mind. He couldn't help thinking about Hermione and he knew he needed to stop. She came from England and he was American. Even if anything did happen between them, it wouldn't be able to work long distance.

But as he thought about her beautiful thick brown hair, and slim body he couldn't help wanting to go back in there and kiss her. He shook his head as if trying to shake away the thoughts of her, but it didn't work.

He supposed he better go back before she started to worry. When he arrived back in he found her sat at the table waiting for him. He sat down opposite her and looked down at the plate in front of him. "A fried egg sandwich?" He said happily. "It's been ages since I had one of these!" He started eating and Hermione laughed at him.

"You look like you haven't eaten in a week the way you're destroying that."

"It's not my fault you made my favourite. How did you know anyway? More magic?"

Hermione blushed and Leon couldn't help notice how cute she was when she blushed. "I just had a feeling," she replied shrugging. "So when are we setting off? I feel awful that we've had a pretty easy ride so far and that poor girl's all alone with them."

Leon frowned. He too was worried about Ashley but he knew that they needed to rest too. "We'd be no use to her tired and weak," he pointed out. "As soon as we're done we'll set off though. I promise."

Hermione smiled at him, and he felt butterflies. "Right, lets go." He said quickly, and stood up to re-pack. Hermione went to remove the wards, and when she came back he noticed she looked as though she'd just had a bath, but she was dry. "How did you get so clean?" He asked her.

"Just a spell, watch. Scourgify." She laughed at Leon who was looking in awe at the dirt that was dissapearing from his arms.

"I wish I was a wizard," he said sadly. "It must make life so much easier." Hermione nodded.

"I can tell the difference the quite a bit because I'm muggle born, but most purebloods say they don't know how muggles manage without magic."

Leon stood with a confused look on his face. "Muggle born and pureblood?"

Hermione laughed. "Muggles are non magical people. Purebloods are people that are from a long line of magic. Sorry about that, I sometimes confuse my parents too."

Leon just nodded before saying "come on then," and leading her outside.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, this time there's more zombies. Don't forget to leave a review if you like what you've read so far.**

It hadn't taken them long to find the insignia they needed to get into the church. In fact, so far today was going quite well for Hermione and Leon. They had run into a maximum of ten infected, and they were easy enough to take out.

As soon as they found the key, they took a shortcut back to the church. They had found a small powerboat close by that led almost straight back to their destination. They only needed to go through a small enclosure and they would be able to get Ashley.

As they walked through the enclosure, Hermione jumped at a loud growling sound. "It's ok Mione, it's coming from behind that locked door. As long as we're quie-"

Suddenly, the source of the noise became clear. A large smash saw the large locked doors smashing to reveal a large troll. "Shit!" Shouted Hermione loudly. She had faced a fully grown mountain troll in her first year, but this one was three times the size.

"Avada Kedavra," she shouted with her wand aimed at the beast. A green light hit the creature in the chest but nothing happened. "It's too big!"

"Good thing we have this then," called Leon. He took out the rocket launcher and blasted it straight towards the creature's head.

The monster instantly fell to it's knees, it's back ripping open to uncover a large tentacle. Leon ran up to the troll, climbed onto it's back and started slashing the tentacle vigorously with his knife. After a moment the troll shrugged him off and he rolled onto the floor. It bend over him raising a fist as if to smash him to pieces when Hermione panicked and did the first, and possibly the most stupid thing that came to mind.

"Hey ugly, over here." The troll turned to face the girl. She must have looked the more tasty of the two because the creature instantly diverted his attention to Hermione and started to charge at her. "Never thought this through," she squealed as the troll lifted him up in his giant hand and started to squeeze her tightly.

"Hermione!" Shouted Leon, who was starting to panic. He charged at the troll, shooting hundreds of bullets quickly into it's legs as to not accidentally catch Hermione.

The troll's legs buckled and he dropped Hermione to the ground. Feeling too weak to move, she watched as Leon started to slash at the parasite again. A warm splatter of bloody gunge hit Hermione straight in the face and she screamed. Leon looked down to her for a second to make sure she was ok, but the troll used that moment to throw him angrily to the ground.

It then turned it's attention to Hermione, who was slowly trying to crawl away, using every spell in her knowledge to try and kill the beast but nothing was working. Leon was shooting it again but it didn't stop the monster from coming for her. With a glance over to Leon she saw something behind him that gave her an idea.

"Wingardium Leviosa," she said using her wand in the 'swish and flick' manner she had been taught so many years ago. A large boulder flew through the air and smashed straight on top of the troll's head.

It fell to the floor and Leon used the opportunity to finish off the parasite that was wiggling madly from the troll's back. With a shriek of pain it fell still and Hermione made a mental note to thank Ron when she got home. If she got home.

Leon ran over to her, quickly wiping away the fluids that were dripping across her cheek. "I thought I was going to lose you there," he said weakly. "I'm sorry but there's something I'm going to have to do."

"What?" Asked Hermione nervously before she saw Leon reach in to kiss her.

The kiss was gentle at first, quickly turning passionate as Hermione touched his cheek and started to kiss back. When they broke off, Leon looked into her eyes and said, "I don't want to regret never doing that in case something happens."

Hermione tried to smiled weakly, though the pain she was in hindered the smile into more of a grimace. "Where are you hurt?" Asked Leon in a protective tone.

"Everywhere," she laughed for a second before quickly stopping and clutching her side. "I think I've broke a rib, would you have a look in my bag? I think there's a book on healing spells in there somewhere."

Leon started to pull book after book out of the small bag before finding one entitled 'Standard Healing Spells.' "This the right one?" He asked, showing her the cover and she nodded. He flicked through the pages before finding a section on broken bones and passed her it.

Hermione took her wand and placed it over the offending rib. She read aloud from the book, feeling the bones moving back into place painfully. She then started to heal a few open wounds, before turning her attention to Leon. "What about you? Did you get injured?"

Leon shook his head. "Just a few bruises." When Hermione started to pack the books away he bent down to help. When they were done, he held his arm out to help her up.

She took his hand but assured him that she felt fine now. "I could do with a quick break though. Do you think the merchant would mind if we went and had a quick sit down with him?"

She had only met the merchant once, just before they entered the enclosure. He seemed nice, though a bit put out that they never bought anything.

"I don't see why not," Leon said happily. He grabbed her hand and led her towards the merchant's hideout.

"Coffee?" Hermione asked the merchant politely.

"Thank yeh," he replied in a raspy voice, as Hermione passed him a cup. "So what brings yeh to these parts strangers? Or do I need ask. No doubt it has something to do with these strange goings on?"

"That's why I'm here," said Leon gravely. "But poor Hermione here was supposed to be having a holiday."

"Shame it had to be ruined," the merchant pointed out sadly. "It's usually lovely 'ere this time of year."

Hermione gave a knowing nod. "I remember when I used to come here as a child everyone used to be so friendly."

"It still was up until a few months ago. But as soon as Sadler got here all that changed."

"Sadler?" Asked Leon, who was obviously hoping for more information on the situation.

"Their leader," replied the merchant. "If you're here to put an end to this Ah'm sure you'll meet him."

They sat talking for another half hour before they really needed to set off. Leon went to go speak to the merchant in private leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts for a short while.

She thought about the kiss they had shared only an hour ago. She liked him, that was obvious. And he must like her too for him to have kissed her. Again obvious. But she wondered where that left them. He had acted normally again nearly instantly. It was silly to presume that they would have some sort of future after only one kiss, no matter how magical it was. And they had only known each other just over a day.

When Leon returned she felt more confused than ever, but tried not to show it. She bid a farewell to the merchant, having a feeling that they would meet again soon. If she didn't die first.

**A/N I'm not looking forward to having to bring in Ashley, but I want to stay as true to the plot of RE4 as possible. Hopefully she won't get in the way too much :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N I just wanted to put a really short fluffy chapter in before Ashley comes and ruins it. I'm so glad she gets kidnapped so much throughout the game. Anyway, I hope you've been enjoying the fic so far, and that you'll enjoy this one just as much. If you do, please make me happy and leave a review :)**

The sun was slowly starting to set as they made their way over the wooden bridges towards the church. "I can't wait to get Ashley and get out of here," Leon commented. He walked in front, his gun poised in case there was any infected nearby.

It wasn't until they reached the outside of the graveyard that they both stopped. "Can you hear that?" Hermione asked, pausing as she heard a low growling noise.

Leon stayed silent for a moment before nodding and telling her to wait there. The next thing Hermione saw was Leon falling to the ground, a large black dog trying to snap at his neck.

"Flippendo," she shouted at the dog, and it was knocked back away from Leon. "Avada Kedavra." The dog rolled onto the floor dead. "I'm just going to make sure there's no more of them." She told Leon, before quickly scouting the area. After making sure they were alone, she ran to Leon's side. "Did it get you?" She asked casting her eyes over him. The dark red blood staining his arm answered her question before he could.

She pulled his jacket off him before running her wand over his arm and casting a healing spell. She saw the wound close up, but the blood remained. She cast the same cleaning spell as she had used on them both that morning, and the blood instantly disappeared.

"Good as new," she said smiling. She picked his jacket up from the floor and a small box fell from the pocket. She picked it up and opened it, staring at the beautiful silver ring that lay inside it. "Erm... Leon? What's this?"

He laughed as he saw her confused face. "I just bought it from the merchant. It's a promise ring. I know we hardly know each other but I wanted to get you something to let you know that if we make it out of here, I want to get to know you better. And that if anything happens to me... For you to never forget me."

Hermione gasped at his words, and wrapped her arms around him. "Leon, it's beautiful. And even though nothing is going to happen to you, I'd never forget you." She kissed him softly on his lips before pulling herself up from the ground.

Leon gestured for her to give him the box, and when she did he pulled the ring out of the box and slid it softly on her finger. "Now let's go get Ashley and get the hell out of here," he said smiling.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N I tried putting this off as long as possible, but it had to happen eventually. Here it is, enter Ashley. Now I need to use all my restraint not to kill her. Anyway, enjoy :)**

Leon and Hermione entered the church with caution. "Homenum Revelio," whispered Hermione, and a single white orb drifted from her wand, and travelled upstairs. "She's here," said Hermione in a louder voice this time. "And she's alone."

They climbed a ladder that led up to the next floor, and they saw the orb disappear through a solid metal door. "Alohamora," Hermione said, pointing to the door, which instantly swung open at the words to reveal a girl who sat cowering in the corner of the room.

"Ashley?" Asked Leon, extending his hand to the frightened girl. She looked up, tears filling her eyes. "I'm here under direct orders from the president to take you back home."

The girls eyes widened a this. "M- My father?"

Leon nodded. "Now lets get out of here."

Leon climbed down the ladder first, holding his arms out to catch both Hermione and Ashley. Hermione struggled to keep in her jealously as he held the blonde girl in his arms. She was pretty. Prettier than herself anyway.

As they made their way into the main part of the church, Mendez was waiting for them. "Mr Kennedy," he said in an amused voice. "And you're little girlfriend too. Congratulations on making it this far, but this is the end of line for you I'm afraid. Now hand over the girl."

"Never," said Leon angrily. The church started to fill with infected, and they quickly became surrounded.

"Maybe now you'll reconsider?" The large man asked, laughing.

"Leon, Ashley, grab my hands." They both did as Hermione said. She had never apparated muggles before, and she was feeling extremely nervous. After the sensation of being pulled through a tight rubber tube had ended, Hermione smiled at the sight of the two of them who apart from looking very nauseous seemed fine.

"What the hell just happened?" Asked Ashley, who was crouching down in what looked like an attempt to not be sick.

"Good question," said Leon who was staring at Hermione with a mix of shock, amazement and anger. "If you can do that why didn't you just get us into the church like that in the first place?"

"I didn't know if I could apperate with muggles. The only reason I did it there was because I had no option. It was so stupid. I could have killed you both by doing that."

"You mean to say you could have killed us back there?" Asked Ashley who had soon recovered and was now glaring at Hermione angrily. "How did you even do that? And what's a muggle."

"I'm a witch. A muggle is a word for someone who isn't magical. Look, I'll explain it all later. I can hear something." All three of them stood silently, listening to the sound of muffled Spanish voices.

"Lets get going," said Leon, leading the two girls towards the nearby village. They went down the small hole that led them down into a medium sized underground passageway. "How about we stop here the night? Hermione would you mind putting up the wards?"

"Fine," Hermione said angrily, non too happy with leaving Leon with Ashley. She wasn't normally the jealous type, and she didn't have any real claim to Leon, but she still couldn't help feeling upset about him being alone with another woman.

She walked up and down the passageway, casting the wards as she went, when a familiar blue light caught her attention. "Merchant," she called happily, running over to him and embracing him.

"How've ya bin, stranger," he said happily. "I've been wondering when I'd see you again. How's the boyfriend? I see you've got on that ring her bought you. It wasn't cheap, I promise you that."

"He's not my boyfriend," she said blushing. "We hardly know each other."

"Well he spoke quite highly of you when he asked me about the ring. Have you found that girl yet by the way?"

"Yeah," said Hermione glumly.

"Never thought of you as the jealous type love." The merchant laughed. "Don't worry, he won't be bothered about her, it's his job to protect her, that's all."

Hermione started to relax. Of course she was being stupid. "Do you want to spend the night with us?" Hermione asked the man. "We have loads of food, and I have a bottle of firewhisky in my bag." The merchant gave her a curious look and she laughed. "It's alcohol made by wizards."

"Well if there's alcohol involved," he laughed.

They walked back to meet the other two and Hermione transfigured some rocks into cushions. She settled herself down on one and threw one to each of the others. Leon brought his over next to Hermione and sat down next to her.

The merchant gave her a wink, and she smiled at him. She had a feeling tonight might not be so bad after all.

**A/N Well I managed not to kill her :) Now I only have another 30-ish chapters to go without killing her and I'm sorted.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Just another light fluffy chapter. Though I love killing zombies, I really want this to be mainly a romance fic. Nobody seems right for Leon in the Resident Evil series, although I know a lot of people like Leon/Claire, which is why this fic came about in the first place.**

As soon as they had finished eating Hermione cracked open the bottle of firewhisky and they began to drink. Wizard alcohol was much stronger than regular alcohol, so after only two shots each they were all quite tipsy.

Hermione had forgotten why she why she was jealous of Ashley, and Ashley seemed to have forgotten why she was angry at Hermione. Things were already pretty lively when Ashley had an idea. "How about truth or dare?"

"You have got to be kidding. That's a kid's game," remarked Leon.

"What's wrong Leon?" Asked Hermione giggling. "Are you scared?"

"What? No way!" He said defensively, but looked to the merchant for support.

"Hey, ah'm game if everyone else is." He said in response to Leon's helpless look.

"Great," Leon muttered. "Fine, I'm in."

"Yay!" Shouted a giddy Ashley and Hermione at the same time. "Ok, so if you refuse you have to take a shot. Last person to pass out wins."

Hermione looked at Ashley and laughed. "I guess you play this game a lot?" Asked Hermione.

"Not with alcohol. I'm still underage in America. Not here though," she said grinning.

"And don't be telling your father I let you drink." Said Leon sternly.

"You worry too much. Anyway, I wanna start. Leon, truth or dare?" Said Hermione, jumping to Ashley's defence.

"Truth," he said in a nervous voice.

"When we get out of here, will you come and visit me in England?"

"Of course," he said smiling, and Ashley made a gagging noise.

"Just kidding," she said happily. "Your turn Leon."

Leon looked around the room for a moment before saying with a sigh, "Ashley, truth or dare."

"Dare," she said grinning. Leon made some 'erm-ing' noises before Hermione ran over to Leon and whispered something in his ear.

"Hey!" Ashley said loudly. "No cheating."

"Ah, let `em be." said the merchant merrily.

"Have it your way," Leon grinned at the merchant. "Think of this as payback for not siding with me earlier." He turned to Ashley and smiled sweetly at her. "I dare you to kiss the merchant, with tongue."

Both Ashley's and the merchant's eyes widened with shock, but Ashley's was the first to wear off. "Fine," she said sounding almost unfazed. She then proceeded to pull the scarf from around the merchant's mouth, and kissed him gently. When she finished, she looked over to Hermione and Leon, giving them a large grin. "How about from now on, for every time someone does the dare, the asker takes a shot?"

They all muttered in agreement, before Ashley said "in that case, both of you take a shot for ganging up against me."

"Whatever," said Leon. He poured himself and Hermione a shot each and they downed them instantly.

"My turn," said Ashley in a sing-song voice. "Hermione, truth or dare?"

"Truth," she replied, not trusting her after what she and Leon had just done.

"Are you a virgin?"

Hermione nearly choked from shock as she heard the question. "I'm not answering that with guys around. I'd rather take the shot thanks."

"Have it your way," said Ashley, pouring her out a large shot.

"Cheers," she commented before downing the drink. "Merchant, truth or dare?"

"Truth. If yer think for a second I'm trusting you, yer much mistaken."

Hermione smiled. "Just what I wanted you to say," she said happily. "What's your real name?"

The merchant swallowed. "Ain't no chance I'm telling you that." He made for the drink bit Hermione stopped him.

"It can't be that bad can it?" She asked. "Pretty please tell us? I'll give you a kiss."

"No you will not!" Shouted Leon. "I think you've had too much to drink."

The merchant took his shot, so he could avoid the question. The game carried on long into the morning. It wasn't until they were all completely drunk that Hermione finally conjured up some sleeping bags and they all went their separate ways to sleep. Leon pulled his sleeping bag close to Hermione's and laid down next to her.

"Leon?" Hermione said sleepily. "Can I have a bedtime kiss?"

"You're drunk," he replied. "I even had to pull you off Ashley not that long ago. If you still want a kiss in the morning you can have it then."

"But Leon!" She whined. "We've kissed before, and blame the merchant for that. He dared me to kiss her." She batted her eyelids at him, and he couldn't resist giving her a small peck on the lips.

"That's all you get until you're sober," he said while gently stroking her hair.

She pouted before saying "cuddle then?"

Leon stood up and unzipped his sleeping bag, laying it down like a bed sheet. "Get on here then and I'll fold yours out to make a sheet."

She did as he said, and was soon falling fast asleep in his arms for the second time in two days.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Extended now I have the pc. It was originally short because I wanted to get chapters out as soon as possible, and I spent the whole day chasing rats around my living room.**

The next day everyone woke up feeling very hungover indeed. Hermione couldn't help wishing she had brought some hangover potion with them, but after a big breakfast of fried food she felt much better.

"Remind me never to drink again," said Ashley in a groggy voice that caused everyone else to laugh.

"Everyone says that after drinking," said Hermione, who could remember saying that exact same phrase dozens of times. She had started packing everything ready to leave, hoping that they would be able to go home soon. Now they had Ashley there was nothing left for them to do but go home.

When she was done the merchant called her over for a private word. "Hermione," he started, causing her to smile. It was the first time he hadn't called her 'stranger.' "I don't think we'll see each other again if yer heading home soon. I just wanted to give yeh something to remember me by."

"Why do people keep doing that?" She asked with a smile on her face. "You really don't have to give me anything."

"I want ter. It's not much anyway." With that, he walked behind her and lowered a necklace onto her neck, then lifted her hair up to fasten it. He went back to facing her and smiled. At least Hermione assumed it was a smile anyway. He was wearing his scarf again meaning his lower face was covered. "Suits yer."

"Thank you," she said and pulled him into a tight hug that he reciprocated.

"You're a strange un, it's not often I get hugs off beautiful women yeh know?"

"I can't help giving you hugs. You're always so lovely." Hermione squeezed him tightly again before letting him go. "I think they're wanting to get going, but I'll write to you. Even if you're always travelling I'm sure my owl will manage to find you."

"Owl? Hermione yer never cease to amaze me."

Leon and the two girls headed through the village, killing a few infected as they went. He led them to a farm just outside of the village, and after a few more kills they reached a gate that was barred from the other side.

"If you give me a lift over the gate I'll be able to open it," said Ashley looking to Leon.

"I don't think there'll be any need for that," Said Hermione. Leon couldn't help but notice the jealousy in her voice. "Wingardium Leviosa," she said while aiming her wand at the door. A dull thud indicated that the bar had been removed, and Leon tried the door.

It clicked open, they all entered though it. There they found a large wooden rope bridge. "I guess we have no other option but to cross." Said Leon, eyeing the bridge with mistrust.

When they were not even halfway across, a loud shout from behind them made them all spin around. "Shit, looks like we have company," shouted Leon before telling the two girls to run.

They fled across the bridge, and headed into a nearby house. When they entered, Leon ordered Ashley to run upstairs and hide. Moments later, a scream from the blonde girl had Hermione and Leon rushing upstairs to join her.

"Calm down senorita, I'm not one of them," came the voice of a man with a thick Spanish accent.

"Luis!" Exclaimed Leon before pulling him into a hug. "We can do pleasantries later, but right now there's about a hundred infected coming our way."

The two men and Hermione headed back downstairs after making sure Ashley was well secured in a wardrobe.

It all went so quickly after that. The house went from being empty to being swarming with infected. They started shouting and firing spells rapidly. "Did you send out those invitations?" Asked Luis to a confused and worn out Hermione. "I said no more than fifty people."

Hermione giggled and Leon couldn't stop a low growl of jealousy. escape him. Luckily everyone was too distracted to hear it, and he quickly resumed fire.

After the last infected was killed, they all sank to the floor with a tired sigh. "It's safe to come down now miss," called Luis to Ashley. She came downstairs, and joined the three of them on the floor. "Well Leon was no good when I asked him before, but you ladies may be some help. Either of you got a smoke?"

Ashley shook her head, but Hermione had an idea. "Accio cigarettes," she said before catching one of the several boxes that flew over to her. "There you go," she said handing him the box. "I had a feeling one of them might have been a smoker."

"Gratsias senorita," he said while lighting up one of the cigarettes. "But how did you do that. I thought it was strange that you could kill them with that stick of yours."

"I'm a witch," she said simply and he just nodded.

"A witch eh? Well I think you might have cast a spell on me," he said winking.

"That's enough of that!" Said Leon, who nudged himself over towards Hermione and wrapping an arm around her.

"Ok, ok. I get it. She's yours," said Luis before casting his eyes over Ashley. "She's not the only beautiful lady here."

Ashley giggled. The four of them sat and talked for a while, drinking some coffee that Hermione had conjured from her bag. "You know that… Dissapearing thing you did before?" Leon asked Hermione. "Any chance you could get us back to America like that?"

Hermione shook her head. "I haven't got a licence for overseas travelling, I had to take a plane here."

"But under special circumstances?" Ashley asked hopefully, but Hermione shook her head again.

"I wouldn't want to risk it. Most wizards portkey to get abroad, too much chance of getting yourself mutilated without the right training. We're just going to have to find a way out the muggle way."

"You witches talk a lot of mumbo jumbo," said Luis getting to his feet. "Anyway, I gotta get going. I hope to see you three again soon." He winked at Ashley before leaving.

"We better get going too," said Leon getting to his feet. When they got outside they found themselves at a crossroad. A note glimmered in the centre and Leon picked it up. "Brilliant," he sighed before turning to the girls. "What sounds the most tempting, troll or chainsaw women?"


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Another short one, but with lots of chainsaw goodness xD**

"I am not going against another troll!" Said Hermione to Leon with a pleading look.

"I suppose they are the lesser of two evils," admitted Leon, knowing Hermione went through enough last time they faced off with a troll. "Ok, lets go this way." He led the two girls down the left path.

When they entered, Leon told Ashley to wait in a red bin before he and Hermione rounded the corner to find a group of infected waiting for them. One of the men shouted something in Spanish before pointing to the two of them.

"Here goes," Leon said to Hermione before taking out his machine gun and firing wildly into the group of infected. After they had all fallen dead, Hermione and Leon carried on walking until they reached a ladder. "I'll go first and kill anyone I see. When it's clear I'll give you a shout."

Hermione nodded, and waited at the bottom of the ladder for him. After a few rounds of gunfire, Leon gave her a shout and Hermione climbed the ladder and met him. "I think we're going to have to go down there," Leon told her, pointing to a circular area beneath them.

He jumped down, before holding his arms out to catch Hermione. Almost as soon as she got to her feet, two women jumped down at either side of them. "You take the one on the right, and I'll take care of the one on the left."

The woman on Hermione's side started up a large chainsaw and began to charge at her. "Avada Kedavra," shouted Hermione, but the woman was running in a way that made it impossible to get a good enough aim on the parasite. "Sectumsempra," she shouted and the woman screamed. Leon turned around for a second at the scream and saw the woman coated in blood, but she quickly got back to her feet.

Leon's look back gave the woman he was fighting enough time to tackle him. With her own chainsaw coming close to his neck, Leon waited for death to take him. "Flippendo," Leon heard Hermione shout. Suddenly the woman that had tackled him fell backwards, and Leon quickly pulled out his gun. He shot hundreds of bullets straight into the woman's stomach, and she eventually fell to the floor dead.

Just then, Hermione screamed. Leon quickly ran over to her and saw the woman straddled Hermione choking her. He saw both their weapons on the floor discarded, and made a run for the chainsaw that was still running on the ground. He picked it up and sliced the infected woman's head off. A parasite emerged from the severed neck, which Leon quickly killed before running over to Hermione and checking she was ok.

"You saved my life," she said weakly.

Leon sat down on the ground and held her, before saying "you saved mine."

They stayed there a few minutes before Leon gave Ashley a whistle to let her know it was safe for her to come out. "I'd never let anything happen to you." He told Hermione. He glanced down and her neck and for the first time noticed the necklace she was wearing.

"That's nice," he told her while playing with it. "The merchant had one just like... Mione, have you been accepting jewellery from other men?" He asked jealously.

"It was just a goodbye present. You really do worry too much." Hermione told him. "I won't wear it if it bothers you."

Leon shook his head. "Nah, it looks nice on you. Just promise me that you're not into him."

Hermione laughed. "No way, he's old. Promise me you don't like Ashley?"

It was Leon's turn to laugh. "Not in that way. You're the only person I like in that way." He smiled at her when he saw her face light up. "Now give me a kiss stupid."

Hermione kissed him passionately for a few seconds, only to be interrupted by Ashley who was stood above them shouting, "sorry to ruin the moment, but some help down would be nice."

Leon sighed and said, "there's a ladder right there you know." Hermione laughed and Leon gave her a playful slap.

"Whatever," Ashley muttered before descending the ladder.

Leon kissed Hermione on the lips before getting to his feet. "Come on then," he said to her, extending his hand to help her up.

"Am I just invisible here or something?" Asked Ashley, clearly annoyed Hermione was getting all of Leon's attention.

"Sorry," muttered Leon as they began walking out of the enclosure and towards the exit.

**A/N So I managed to get Hermione to take my anger out on the Bella Sisters. If only she could do the same thing with Ashley for me.**


	12. Chapter 12

"Merchant!" Said Hermione happily, running over and hugging the man tightly. They had just left the route with the two chainsaw women, and had seen the blue lights in the distance.

"Hermione." Said the merchant, returning the hug. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you again."

Though Hermione had already admitted to not being interested in the merchant, Leon still felt the familiar sting of jealousy. When the pair were done embracing, Leon grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him.

"We were just about to take a break and have something to eat," said Hermione to the merchant. "Do you want to join us?" Leon glared at the merchant who then proceeded to tell Hermione he needed to leave. "Shame," she said quietly, before pulling herself out of Leon's arms and giving the merchant a goodbye hug.

Once Hermione, Leon and Ashley had left, they headed towards a secluded house nearby. "Do you really have to flirt with him so much?" Leon asked Hermione quietly.

"I wasn't flirting with him! I just gave him a hug." She replied back angrily. "I thought I told you I don't have feelings for him."

"Yeah well, you're mine." He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Yours?" Asked Hermione confused. "When did that happen? You haven't even hinted you wanted to be with me. Just a few kisses and that's it."

"I gave you that ring didn't I?" Said Leon, slowly getting angrier. "What more can I do. If anything happened to you while we're here... If I let myself fall for you properly..."

Hermione calmed herself down, before kissing him gently. "Nothing's going to happen to me. Isn't that what you keep telling me?"

"I know. I'm sorry. Lets just leave things how they are for now. We can talk about this when it's all over. How about for the moment we just stay friends?"

"Ok," was all that Hermione could manage. She stayed silent all throughout dinner, and then headed straight out.

"Where are you going?" Leon asked Hermione. "If you want to go for a walk then we'll come with you. It's not safe out there, you know that."

"Look, the door that we need to go through has a retinal scanner that's needed to be opened. I noticed it on the way here. You two look exhausted so I'll meet you here once I've found a way to open it."

She turned and left the house before either of the other two had a chance to say anything.

"All on your own?" Mendez asked her. "Why isn't your boyfriend here to help you? Has he left you for the American?"

"He's not my boyfriend," said Hermione angrily before firing a curse at the man who dodged it with ease.

"But you wish he was," he laughed, running towards Hermione. She ducked out of the way and the man slammed into the wall behind her.

"I wish for a lot of things." She told the man, throwing another curse at him while avoiding a punch.

"You know, you can have him if you join us. Both he and the girl are infected with Las Plagas. One day soon the parasites will develop and he won't be able to deny doing our bidding."

"You're lying."

"You don't believe me?" He knocked her to the ground and her wand fell from her hand. "You'll see soon enough." Without another word, he stood on her wand, breaking it in two.

"Mione?" A familiar voice said, and Hermione opened her eyes. "Are you ok? Where's everyone else?" She looked up at the man in front of her who was extending an arm to help her up.

"I'm fine, I just passed out." She took the man's hand and stumbled into his arms. "M-me and Leon had a fight and I needed some time on my own."

"Well yeh know I'm here for yeh if you need someone to talk ter."

Hermione smiled at the man and pulled his scarf away from his face before kissing him passionately. She kissed him with all the emotion from her anger at Leon, and he reciprocated it. When they broke off, the merchant looked down at the girl he held in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"Feel better now?" He asked her and she nodded. "You and Leon will make up. I promise yer. And don't be feeling bad about kissing me. You needed some affection, and friends help friends."

"If things were different-" Hermione started but was cut off.

"I'm too old for yer love. You and Leon are good for each other. Now lets get yeh back to `im." He said gently, taking her hand and walking her back to the house.

**A/N Don't you just love the merchant xD**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Sorry for the nasty Leon in this chapter, but he can't always be nice… Though I think I may have gone slightly overboard-nasty towards the end of this one.**

The merchant carried Hermione into the house. She had nearly collapsed on the way back, so the merchant had refused to take no for an answer when he picked her up and started to carry her back.

When he entered, Leon immediately ran over and took Hermione into his own arms before laying her carefully onto the floor. "What the fuck have you done to her?" He asked the merchant with an unusual amount of fury in his voice.

"Well if you hadn't upset her enough to make her run off-"

"Don't you dare bring that into this!" Shouted Leon.

"Well it's true. She was fighting god knows what while you were here cozying up with some... Tart."

"Hey!" Injected Ashley, but was ignored by both men.

"She's the one that needs to explain what she was doing with you! I've made my feelings quite clear about her relationship with you! But she won't listen."

"If you hadn't upset her then there would never have been anything but friendship between us!"

Leon stood in a silent state of shock. What had happened between Hermione and the merchant? "What did you mean by that?"

"Nothing." The merchant said quickly.

"No, there must have been something or you wouldn't have said that."

"It was just a kiss. She's in love with you, it didn't mean anything."

"Just a kiss?" Asked Leon furiously. "Just a fucking kiss?" He lunged at the merchant and Ashley gave a loud scream. Leon punched the man underneath him dozens of times before a tiny voice made him stop.

"Blame me," Hermione said softly. "Don't hurt him."

"Don't worry, I will be blaming you." He told her harshly. "Now get out of here," he said to the merchant.

Hermione went to get up but the merchant told her not to. "Just stay there and rest," he said quietly. "You won't see me again."

"Wait," cried Hermione but the man had already left. She turned to look at Leon but he just turned away from her.

The next day was lonely for Hermione. Leon still wasn't talking to her and Ashley seemed to have taken his side over hers. So far she hadn't even seen a small glimmer of blue light to let her know the merchant was nearby, and she supposed that that he was keeping true to his word and staying away.

The only reprieve she had was when they ran into Luis, but he didn't stay for long. He mentioned something about having a cure for them, and Hermione suspected he knew they were infected.

She still hadn't told them, they may have already known it themselves. She wanted more than anything to speak to Leon again, but when he looked at her now she only ever saw anger in his eyes.

They entered the castle in silence, only to be greeted with a high pitched giggling. Hermione looked around, before eventually casting her eye on a short man who was stood on a balcony above them.

"Ah, Mr. Kennedy. My name is Raymond Salazar, owner of this tremendous castle. I see you have brought us a gift. Hand over Ashley and I might let you live a bit longer. Not that it matters whether you live or die. Soon you'll be one of us and you won't be able to get in the way anymore."

"You're lying!" Leon shouted at the man. "And I'll never give her to you."

"Lying?" The man asked in a sly voice. "Don't tell me that the English girl hasn't told you already?"

Leon turned to Hermione and looked at her furiously. "Told me what?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"You and Ashley are carrying Las Plagas. If they're not removed soon you'll both end up like everyone else."

"And you?" He asked her.

"Me too."

The man above them began to laugh. "Took it willingly too. Keep your friends close Mr. Kennedy. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again soon." With that he was gone, leaving the trio stood in a cloud of tension.

"What did he mean by you chose to become infected?" Leon asked her quietly.

"I-I don't want to talk about it."

"You're going to tell us whether you like it or not." He told her, but she ran from them.

A sudden sound of gunfire brought Hermione crashing to the floor. "Don't make me kill you." Said Leon looking pleadingly at Hermione.

"Don't make meh kill you." Said the familiar voice of the merchant, who was aiming a Killer7 straight at Leon.

Leon instantly dropped his gun and held his arms up. "Don't you dare leave with him!" Leon told Hermione, but she wasn't having any of it.

"You just shot me!" She said angrily to Leon. "If I do anything it won't be with you." The merchant picked her up and carried her away, all the time keeping his gun held poised at Leon.

"Leon, are you crying?" Ashley asked, walking over to the spot where he was lying.

"I really do think I was falling in love with her." He told Ashley. "But now I don't know how I feel. She betrayed us."

"You don't know that!" Ashley said, rising to Hermione's defence. "You didn't hear her out."

"She refused to tell me and then ran off." He said angrily. "She obviously betrayed us."

"I don't think so, I've seen the way she looks at you."

"She doesn't care about me. I thought she did but she wouldn't have kissed him if she did," he said sadly.

"I heard the conversation you had before she left. I really think you made her feel unwanted."

Leon turned away from Ashley. Maybe she was right, but he didn't want to admit it.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Another short fluffy chapter, I hope you enjoy it and aren't too shocked at what happens at the end of this chapter.**

Hermione went into her bag and pulled out a white wand. "I thought yeh had a black one of them?" Asked the merchant.

"I did but the village elder stepped on it when he..."

"You don't need to tell me what happened in there if you don't want to," said the merchant gently. "But I'll always be here for you if you need me." He watched as she used her wand to remove the bullet from her leg and heal the wound that remained.

"I didn't betray anyone." She said crying. He couldn't tell if it was from the wound or from the thought of Leon, but he instantly crouched down beside her and held her.

"I believe you," he told her. "You don't have to explain yourself to me."

It had been over a day since Hermione had last seen Leon. She'd been secretly hoping to run into him, even after what he had done to her. She had told the merchant everything that had happened when she was alone with the village elder, and now she felt she had the confidence to tell Leon what had happened as well.

It was as though the Gods had read her thoughts, as Leon entered the room she and the merchant were occupying.

"Just get yerself out of here. I don't want yer causing the poor lass any more trouble. She's been through enough as it is." Said the merchant. "Where's the other girl anyway? Shot her too?"

"She got kidnapped," Leon sadly. "And I don't want to cause any trouble. I actually wanted to apologise."

Hermione stood up and asked the merchant if he minded her and Leon having a private word. "Go ahead love," he said kindly. "But stay somewhere I can see you. I don't trust him anymore."

When they were alone, Hermione found it difficult to keep the tears away. Leon looked calmer now, and there was no trace of anger in his eyes. There was only sadness. "I'm sorry," Leon told her.

"I understand. Sort of," Hermione responded. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but you were difficult to talk to."

"I know." He gave her a weak smile that she returned.

"I'm ready to tell you why he said I was willing. If you'll still hear me out." Leon nodded and Hermione began to speak. "The man I got the false eye from... He told me that you and Ashley were infected. Then he offered me... Something if I joined them willingly. Then he changed his offer. He said if I didn't agree then he... He'd rape me."

Hermione began to cry, and Leon moved to give her a hug. "I let him inject me with the plaga. I thought you'd never forgive me if I let him rape me. But then he did it anyway."

"You can stop now Mione," Leon told her soothingly.

"No, I'm fine." She wiped the tears from her face before continuing. "When he did it, all I thought about was our argument. I knew you'd never want me after that. So I kissed the merchant. I needed to feel like someone wanted me. Even if it was only for a moment. And he kissed me back not because he wanted to, but because he knew I needed it."

"He's been a better friend to you than I've been." Leon said sadly.

"Leon, I don't want you to be my friend," Hermione told him, and Leon looked down sadly. "I want you to be more than that."

Leon looked back up and stared into her eyes. "You promise?"

"Of course!" She said in disbelief that he even needed reassurance. Leon smiled before pulling her into a kiss that made Hermione go weak at the knees.

"Do you want to be my... Oh this sounds so pre-school. Fuck this." He got down onto one knee and held her hand in his own. "I know this is sudden, but I've never been more sure of anything in my life. Hermione, will you marry me?"

**A/N I know they've barely known each other for long, but could you imagine Leon dating… He doesn't quite seem like the type.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N This was originally written at about 5am, but not to worry, all mistakes have been fixed. I wonder what Hermione's involvement will have to do with Luis' fate… xD**

"Yes!" Squealed Hermione with excitement, causing Leon to laugh.

"You don't think it's too soon?" He asked, and she shook her head.

"We can have a long engagement," she said happily. "Oh Leon I love you," she said enveloping him in a deep hug.

"I love you too Hermione," he told her. "I promise I'll never hurt you again."

"Good," she said laughing. "Now let's go tell Vinnie."

"Vinnie?" Asked Leon confusedly. "That's not his real name is it?"

"Nah, I just keep coming up with names for him since he won't tell me what it really is. Yesterday it was Rolf. He hated that one."

Leon laughed, and held her hand as they walked back to see the merchant. "It's good ter see yeh've worked things out. Though yeh can't blame me for not trusting yeh again yet." Said the merchant to Leon.

"I understand," said Leon politely. "I know we've both said and done some bad things in the past few days, but do you think we can make up? For Hermione's sake anyway."

"Sure," said the merchant though he didn't sound it.

"Thank you." Said Leon, extending his hand to the man and shaking hands with him. "Now I don't suppose you have any engagement rings in stock?"

"Engaged eh?" Asked the merchant, winking at Hermione. "Actually, I think I have the perfect one." He had a look through his stock, eventually pulling out a small red box. "What do you think?" He asked Leon, showing it to him.

"It's beautiful," he commented. "Just like her. How much do you want for it?" He asked the man.

"Free of charge. If it's for our Mione then she deserves whatever she can get."

"It's not right for me to not pay. It'll make me seem cheap. Here you go," he said, passing the merchant a large bundle of notes.

"There must be ten thousand here at least!" Said the merchant shocked, and Hermione gasped.

"She's worth every penny."

There was a loud bang from the sound of a door being opened, and the three of them spun around to see Luis running over to them. "I've got it!" He shouted happily, waving a bottle of pills.

A second figure entered the room, and Hermione recognised the man instantly from the paintings that were dotted around both the village and castle.

"Give me the sample!" Shouted the unnamed man, but Luis refused. "Do I have to kill you?" He asked angrily.

"Good luck with us here!" Said Hermione in a raised voice, stealing the man's attention.

"Ah, the witch. How nice to finally meet you. Mendez certainly had a lot to say about you. How you scream so beautiful-"

"Leave her alone!" Shouted Leon angrily. "Four against one, do you really want to risk it?"

"I have no need to do the dirty work myself. Salazar will take care of the researcher. I have my own plans for the rest of you."

Once he left, Luis passed the pills to Leon and explained they could slow down the growth of the plagas that were living inside them. "Aren't they the same pills you gave me last night Freddy?" Hermione asked the merchant.

"Yeah." He said darkly. "Yeh's ain't the only good guys that are infected yeh know. Nicked 'em when I realized I'd been infected. They've been working great so far."

"Oh," Hermione said sadly. "I guess we're all in the same boat then."

"Actually senorita, I was lucky enough not to have been implanted with Las Plagas." Said Luis. "Good thing too. They tricked me into helping create this virus. What else would they have me do if it were willingly."

"While I'm enjoying this little reunion, maybe we should go find Ashley now?" Hermione asked, not wanting to think about the plagas that were living inside three of the four of them.

"Good point," said Leon. "Who's coming?"

"I am," said Hermione and Luis in unison.

"Ah'd love ter," said the merchant honestly. "I'm just a bit worried ah'd slow yer down with all this." He gestured to his stock, and Hermione smiled at him.

"I can get it all to fit in here," Hermione told him and the merchant smiled.

"Thank yeh Mable," he said causing Leon to laugh and Hermione to look at him confused. "What? So you can change my name every two minutes but I can't change yours?"

"Whatever," said Hermione, laughing herself this time.

As they all went into the next room, the sound of struggling caught their attention. They all looked down from the balcony and saw Ashley held against the wall by three thin straps of metal.

The merchant shot her free with a rifle, leaving Hermione free to bring her up to their level using Wingardium Leviosa.

When Ashley was set down she hugged each one of them. "I'm so glad you two have made up," she told Hermione happily.

"Me too," replied Hermione, who couldn't help but admit today was going better than she had ever imagined.

**A/N Of course I had to save him, Luis is one of the best Resi4 characters ever. Though for how long he's going to live for…. :p**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Warnings for this chapter… Lime, and a very loud drunken Hermione…**

"How about we call it a night?" Asked Ashley. "I'm starving, and I wouldn't mind having a drink now there's more of us."

"Fine, but we're not playing truth or dare again," said Leon, who was obviously still annoyed about Hermione kissing everyone the last time they played.

"Spoilsport," said Ashley jokingly.

They headed back to the room that Leon had found Hermione, and Hermione set up the wards leaving the rest of the group to sort out a meal.

She also transfigured some beds, which she noticed at a second glance looked remarkably like the ones in the Gryffindor common room. After the beds were done, she created some seats for them to sit in while drinking. "Perfect," she said to herself while admiring her handiwork.

Once they had eaten, they opened a fresh bottle of firewhisky and began to drink.

"So whatcha wanna do?" Asked Ashley.

"We could play cards?" Suggested Hermione. She riffled through her bag until she found a deck.

"I knew you packed a lot, but I never realised you packed cards. Did you bring the kitchen sink with you too?" Joked Leon.

"Actually," said Hermione who had gone back into her bag. Everyone looked at her in shock before she pulled her arm back out and said "just kidding."

They began by playing for shots. Poor Ashley, who had never played poker in her life, was getting drunker and drunker by the round. "I think I'm going to team up with Ashley," said Luis, casting a worried look over at the girl.

Everyone else agreed, and the game was back to a level playing field. It wasn't long until the bottle was nearly empty, and the drunken friends decided to make the game more interesting.

"How about we play for clothes now?" Asked Ashley.

"It's always you isn't it?" Laughed Leon. "Fine, I'm sure I'll just be outnumbered again.

With Luis and Ashley teamed up, they only lost a few socks between them. The merchant had lost his scarf and cloak, revealing a rather nice outfit underneath it. Leon was shoeless, with no top on either, allowing him to show off his remarkably toned chest. Hermione, who had been getting good hands throughout the game had seen her luck change drastically. She was clad in only a bra and underwear, and though Leon was unhappy about everyone else seeing her body, he was unable to keep his eyes off her.

"Straight," Hermione said proudly while showing her hand to the rest of the room.

"Bad luck senorita," laughed Luis showing the room a royal flush. "I think I'll be taking your bra now."

Just as Hermione went to unclasp her bra, Leon grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder. "Sorry guys," he called to them while taking Hermione over to the double bed and dropping her onto it gently.

"No fair Leon!" Hermione heard Luis shout jokingly.

"Sleep," Leon told Hermione but she wouldn't listen. She pulled him on top of her and mashed their mouths together in a fumbled kiss.

"Fuck me." She told him, but Leon shook his head.

"It's too soon after what happened to you, you're drunk, and there's three people over there who don't need to hear you screaming my name."

"So you think you're that good eh?" Hermione asked with a smirk. "I'm fine honestly, I've wanted you since the first time I saw you so it's not taking advantage, and I promise I'll be quiet."

"No!" Said Leon firmly, but his strength wavered as Hermione put her hand down his trousers and started to tease him. "No!" He said again but Hermione knew that she was getting to him.

"Please?" She said, batting her eyelids. "Please Leon I need you to fuck me." He moaned as Hermione tried something new beneath his jeans, and Hermione knew she had won.

"Oh fuck, Leon!" Hermione's voice was drifting across the room and the trio that had remained playing started to laugh. "Gods, yes!"

Once the merchant, Ashley and Luis heard Leon groan loudly, and the sound of snoring quickly accompanying it, they burst into another fit of giggles.

"Please tell me you didn't hear any of that," A half naked Leon asked the group.

"Hear what?" Asked Ashley innocently, and Leon turned around to go back to bed. "Fuck, Leon." Ashley began to imitate Hermione but stopped as soon as Leon span back around.

"Night," he said in an amused voice before getting back into bed with Hermione and falling quickly asleep with her wrapped safely in his arms.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N Another short one, this time with some Ashley/Luis… Because someone has to keep her busy so she's not screaming for Leon all the time.**

"Morning Mione," the merchant said with a smile. "Have fun last night?"

Hermione looked at him confused. The smile on his face making her think he knew something she didn't. "I can't really remember much, but I'm assuming I did something stupid."

The merchant gave her a wide grin. "Have you seen Leon this morning?"

"No, why?" Asked Hermione in a worried voice. "We didn't have another argument did we?"

"It didn't sound like arguing to me," laughed the merchant. "Whatever you were doing it was loud though."

"Oh," said Hermione. The images of last night suddenly came flooding back to her. "Do you know where he is?"

"Said something about him and Luis having a quick scout ahead for some stone tablets. Don't know if that makes any sense to yer?" Hermione shook her head.

"I guess I'll have to wait until he gets back. We weren't really that loud were we?"

The merchant laughed. "He weren't."

"Hermione?" Said an abnormally quiet Ashley. "Do you mind if I have a word?" Hermione shook her head, and led Ashley over to the other side of the room.

"It's about Luis," started Ashley. "Last night he kissed me. But this morning he acted like nothing had happened."

Hermione smiled. "Don't worry. He likes you back."

"Excuse me?" Said Ashley, taken aback. "Who says I like him in the first place?"

"It's written all over your face, just like it is on his." Explained Hermione. "The longing looks, and the eye contact that lasts just that second longer than it should. I've seen it happen before with my best friend Harry and his girlfriend Ginny. But they spent years acting like that. Do yourself a favour and tell him you like him."

When Leon got back, Hermione never got the chance to talk to him. He was talking happily about finding some stone pieces. "Which I think means we should be able to get out of here soon. Hermione... Hermione?"

She had been deep in thought of how to tackle the subject. About whether she even should. Now she felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment as she was caught not paying attention. "Yes?" She asked quietly.

"Do you think you'll be able to apperate us back into the room we... The room we saw Salazar in? You know who I mean don't you? The crazy short guy."

"No problem," she replied. "Although I should maybe take you two at a time. I don't think I want to risk any more than that." She walked over to Ashley and whispered, "You have five minutes."

Grabbing hold of Ashley and Luis, she disappeared with a crack, taking Luis and Ashley with her. She returned by herself moments later. "How about we leave it a few minutes?" She asked the two remaining boys."

The merchant, or Howard as Hermione had decided to call him today, gave a knowing look. Leon on the other hand looked confused. "Why?"

"Because they're wanting a private word." She said simply. "Howard, do you mind if me and Leon have a quick word alone too? While I get rid of the beds and everything."

"No problem lassie," the merchant laughed. "You're getting closer by the way."

"Really?" Asked Hermione happily, but was soon frowning at the fact he was joking. "Whatever, come on Leon. I don't like the thought of them being alone for too long."

They walked towards the sleeping area and Hermione tried to approach the subject as delicately as possible. "Not that I didn't enjoy last night or anything... But I don't normally make a habit of sleeping with someone I've known less than a week."

"But you accept marriage proposals from people you've known that long?" Asked Leon with a playful smile on his face. "I'm kidding. I wasn't expecting anything, honestly. And I still don't. We made a drunken... Well for me it wasn't a mistake. It was the best night of my life."

"Really?" Smiled Hermione. "Well anyway, I think we've left them two long enough..."

Hermione, Leon and the merchant looked around to make sure they hadn't left anything before dissaperating.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Warning, character death. Don't hate me for this...**

The five of them followed the passageway to find they had two different routes they could take. They had already seen that they needed two grails to open the big door that Luis claimed was the way out.

"Let's split up." Said Leon, obviously wanting to get out as soon as possible. "Me and Ashley will take the left route, Hermione go with Luis and the Merchant along the other route.

Hermione nodded, and followed the two men towards the door on the right. She was surprised that she felt no resentment towards Ashley for Leon choosing to partner with her. After all, it was his job to protect her. He couldn't leave her in the company of two other men for the sake of spending time with his fiancé.

Luis took the lead, dodging two suits of armour that sprang to attack him as he passed. They entered a circular room where they found the grail they were looking for sat in the middle. "This seems a bit... Easy." Commented Hermione nervously.

"It has a warning," replied Luis. "It sounds like something bad happens to whoever removes it. If I take it, will you two back me up?" Hermione and the merchant nodded. "Here goes nothing."

As soon as Luis picked up the grail, three suits of armour that were stood around the room suddenly burst to life. They charged at Luis, taking no interest in Hermione or the merchant whatsoever.

Both Luis and the merchant began shooting them, while Hermione started to aim spells wildly at them. "Shit, my magic keeps rebounding off their armour," she told the other two.

"Don't worry senorita, we got them." Shouted Luis over the gunfire. It wasn't until a tentacle popped out and Hermione tried a quick Avada Kedavra that made the suit fall to the ground and shatter. "Nice one," Luis told her, before shooting another one and causing them to reveal it's own parasite.

As soon as the three suits of armour disappeared, a whirring noise began to emit from the room before three more suits of armour entered the room. These ones were a darker metal, looking much more powerful than the first three they encountered. Repeating the same technique of Luis and the merchant firing mercilessly before Hermione killed the parasite.

They made quick work of it, and when they were done, they met Leon and Ashley back in the middle. "How did it go?" Hermione asked, and Leon gave her a smile.

"Piece of cake." Leon told her, before asking how the other three had managed.

"Speak for yourself Leon!" Said a stressed looking Ashley. "First we nearly get smushed by a spikey ceiling, then I nearly get smushed again by a man with a drill."

"Relax, I got you out fine didn't I?" Said Leon, clearly unbothered by their little adventure.

Ashley gave a small "hmm" noise before repeating Leon's question about how they had managed.

"Nothing too bad," Hermione replied. "We can talk about this later anyway. Let's just get going."

They placed the two grails in their allotted places, and the doors opened. It led them towards a room with a large dripping nest attached to the ceiling. "Looks clear to me," said Leon before walking over to a lever that presumably lowered the bridge.

It worked, but before they left the merchant told them to wait. "Normally have some nice jewels in these nests," he told them before taking out his gun and shooting it down.

It fell to the ground with a large crash, leaving a large amount of gunge on the ground. Dotted inside the gunge however, were several sparkly objects. He knelt down and reached to grab one, when at that second, a large insect quickly flitted towards him. Before anyone could shout out to him, the insect quickly lunged it's pincers straight into the merchant's chest.

"No!" Screamed Hermione, running to the merchant's side, as Leon and Luis began to shoot at the creature that had attacked the man. She took in the sight of his wound, and began to cry. "I-I'm sorry. I don't know any..."

"Mione," said the merchant weakly. "There's nothing yeh can do. Just p-promise you'll look after yerself." Hermione began to weep, she took out her wand and tried every healing spell she knew, but nothing was working. "Mione, stop. I'm gonna die and there's nothing yeh can do to change that."

The sound of fluttering and gunfire began to fill the room, but Hermione never moved from the man's side. "I'm sorry," she told him, but the man just reached up and touched her face.

"Don't be. I love you Mione." He tried to reach up to her, but the pain made it impossible. Hermione lent down towards him instead. "Never forget me."

Tears stung Hermione's eyes, but she ignored them. Kissing his forehead, she whispered "I promise."

"It's John, by the way." The merchant told Hermione, before his eyes went blank and the life left him completely.

"John," she repeated sadly. She sat there through the rest of the fight, holding the merchant's hand. It wasn't until the gunshots finally stopped, and Leon ran over to Hermione's side that she finally took her eyes off the man that lay dead before her.

"I'm sorry," Leon told her. "But he wasn't the only one we lost."

Hermione gasped, giving Leon a questioning look before scanning her eyes across the room. She saw Luis, but where was... "Ashley?" She said worriedly. "What happened to her?"

Luis stepped forward and answered her question. "It was my fault, I told her to stand behind us so she'd be safe. But one of them flew over our heads and snatched her."

"But she's alive?" Luis nodded, leaving Hermione to breathe a sigh of relief. She turned her attention back to John. "He was a good man," Luis said sadly, and Hermione gave a nod.

"The best."

They couldn't take the body with them, but Hermione silently promised she would have a funeral once it was all over. Just before they left, Hermione noticed a blue gem glimmering in John's other hand. She took it as a final memory of him, before leaving with the other two men.

As they carried on walking Hermione couldn't help playing with her necklace. No, she would never forget the man that loved her unconditionally. The man that never begrudged her for loving Leon instead. The man who would live in her heart forever.

**A/N I'm sorry for killing him. Really, I am. But not everyone could live through the whole experience. Please, please don't hate me.**


	19. Chapter 19

"Can we take a break for a while?" Asked Hermione sadly. She could feel her heart continuing to break, and she knew she'd be no good to the boys in this state.

Leon nodded knowingly. "Take all the time you need."

They were in a small room, but large enough to fit the three of them for the night. Now they were two members of the party down, there was no happiness as there had been last night.

Hermione set the wards, before transfiguring a few stones into chairs and sitting down. She watched as Leon and Luis began to prepare supper, pushing her hands into her pockets and playing with the gem that her merchant had died for. "Why do you think he kept his name a secret?" She asked the boys. "It was so normal, not what I expected from him at all."

"Maybe that's why senorita. He was an extraordinary man, a normal name wouldn't have suited his personality." Luis had come to sit next to Hermione, sensing she needed somebody to be there for her. "You still haven't told us what it was."

"I'm not sure I want to tell you," said Hermione. "I have the necklace he gave me. And this gem. But knowing something he kept so secret, I think I want to keep it a secret a bit longer. So I have something special to keep the bond we had." She looked up at Luis and smiled. "Does that sound stupid?"

Luis shook his head. "Not in the slightest senorita." He reached out and touched her hand, causing her to break out in a fresh set of tears. "Leon?" He said nervously, and the blonde came straight over to hold the girl.

"Hey darling. Not holding up too good?" Asked Leon while stroking her hair gently, and Hermione shook her head. Leon picked her up from her seat and pulled the girl into his lap.

"Why him?" She asked, voice trembling. "Why not me? I spent all last year watching the people I love die. When's it going to be my turn?"

Leon sighed. "Because it's not your turn yet. I know it hurts, but it won't hurt forever. You'll never stop loving or missing them, but one day you'll go on living."

"I know how it feels!" Shouted Hermione, hoping that turning the hurt into anger would make it go away. But it didn't. Leon put up with half an hour of shouting before Hermione finally stopped, and fell into his arms crying once more.

That night was a depressing affair. They ate in silence, then went straight to sleep. Everyone except for Hermione that was. She spent hours crying through the snores of the two boys, it wasn't until the early hours of the morning that sleep finally took her over.

"Wake up darling," Leon said gently to Hermione, who had been sleeping for hours longer than everyone else. "We need to set off now."

"Was it all a dream?" She asked groggily, and Leon held her helplessly.

"No Mione, I'm sorry." Though the death of her friend was still hurting, Hermione was relieved to feel some of the pain had gone. It was replaced with a dull ache, but the painful stab of hurt was dissapearing.

When Hermione had got up properly and had something to eat, she crouched down and helped the boys put everything away. It wasn't until Leon had held an arm out to help her get off the floor that she noticed a large cut on his lower arm. "How did you get that?" She asked worriedly, and Leon pulled his sleeve down to hide it.

"It's nothing," Leon told her, leading her out of the room they had been staying in, and towards a large tower.

"Tell me!" She demanded, and Leon relented, knowing that there was no way she would let this drop.

"While you were asleep we were attacked. Me and Luis took care of it though, so it's no big deal."

Hermione's heart sank. "I must have been too upset that I didn't put up the wards properly last night. Oh Leon I'm so sorry. I could have got us all killed."

"But you didn't," said Leon sternly. "Stop worrying."

The three of them began walking across a large bridge which led to a set of massive heavy doors. When they entered Leon swore quietly before pulling out his rocket launcher. He aimed it at two men who were both encased in metal confines. One of the men fell to the floor instantly, but the other, who was much more covered by the metal armour made an enraged yell, and ran straight towards them. "Run," shouted Leon, and the three of them moved out of the way of the oncoming man, who upon further inspection had large metal claws on either hand. The claw sunk into the door and Leon shot at a tentacle that was sticking out of it's back.

Hermione tried to cast the killing curse, but it was working to no avail. The creature lunged in Leon's direction, and Luis made a well aimed shot at the tentacle. The boys kept switching from being the attacker, and the one being attacked by the creature, and before long it was dead. Hermione quivered and Leon rushed to her side. "What use would I be without you?" She asked the blonde.

"About as much use as I'd be without you," Leon responded. The men allowed her to calm down before setting off again. The next room they entered, they found Ashley, accompanied by Salazar. Leon shouted to Ashley, but two hooded guards held pointed spears in Ashley's path.

"Mr Kennedy, don't you know when it's time to throw in the towel?" Salazar reached for a switch, and suddenly the floor collapsed beneath them.

"Hold on," Leon told Hermione and Luis, and they grabbed onto him just in time for Leon to shoot a grappling hook into the wall and stop them from hitting the spikes beneath them.

"Hmm, where's the satisfying sound of their impalement?" Came the voice of Salazar from above them. Leon shot a bullet towards a speaker at the top of the pit, and Salazar shrieked. "Kill him!" He whined, presumably to one of his henchmen. "Quickly, we shall prepare for the ritual."

The doors slammed shut, and Hermione apparated herself and the two men back to the room they were just in. A small ladder led them down into some kind of sewer, and Leon's radio beeped.

"You may have survived this time," Salazar's voice rang out. "But this time I've sent my right hand to dispose of you."

"Your right hand comes off?" Asked Leon, and Hermione giggled.

Once the conversation had ended, the three of them began to delve down the sewer tunnels. "I think I like this place even less than the swamp." Hermione told the boys nervously.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Warning, extremely minor character death, or extremely major if you're Luis or one of his fangirls.**

**They didn't have to spend long in the sewer before the sound of something crashing through the water below them stole their attention. "What is that?" Asked Hermione worriedly before Luis insisted they keep moving. He seemed to know his way around pretty well, and led them to a room with an elevator.**

"**Shit, powers off!" He muttered, before leading them back into the tunnels and into a control room. "It normally takes a while for the elevator to come back on," he told them. As soon as he flicked the power switch and they headed for door, there was a loud bang. **

"**Looks like we have company," said Leon through gritted teeth. There in front of them was one of Salazar's henchmen, de-robed to reveal it's hard scaly exterior. It looked like something out of a horror film.**

**The men started to shoot away, though their bullets seemed to be bouncing off the creature rather than damaging it. Hermione tried casting a few curses, but they too were having no affect. "Let's just run for it," she told the boys, leading them back into the sewer. They kept running almost all the way to elevator room before Hermione stopped.**

"**Hurry up or he'll get us!" Said Luis quickly, but Hermione just laughed. **

"**That's the point," she said grinning. The monster soon caught up to them, and Hermione quickly kicked an liquid nitrogen tank to the ground, causing the gas to leak out. The monster stopped dead in it's tracks, and the boys began shooting rapidly at the creature. Their bullets began to weaken it this time, rather than rebound from it's shell. Before long though, it had unfrozen and started to attack them again. "Into the elevator room!" Hermione shouted and the boys ran.**

**Once they were in there, Leon spotted another nitrogen tank and smiled at Hermione. Before he could say a word though, the creature came into the room, and Leon hurriedly kicked the tank over, once again freezing it.**

**This time, after a few moments of shooting, the creature fell dead. "Now how did you know that would work?" Asked Leon proudly to Hermione.**

"**I noticed the tanks, and I wondered whether it was some sort of safety precaution. Why else would they be there?" Leon kissed Hermione, causing her to give a slight moan, and Luis to laugh.**

"**Can we focus on finding my senorita now?" He asked jokingly, and the three of them took the elevator.**

**The lift took them down to a small empty room, where they took a quick break after battling the monster. They only stayed for about fifteen minutes, having a quick drink and some lunch. Luis seemed quite egger to continue their journey, the quick glimpse of Ashley spurring him on to help find her.**

**The mood was lifted slightly from yesterdays, though they were all still silently mourning the loss of the merchant, they joked together as they left the room, wondering what was coming next.**

"**I hope it's not another troll," said Hermione worriedly. **

**Leon laughed. "As long as it's not chainsaws I don't care." They both looked at Luis, who's face had suddenly turned to a grimace.**

"**Let's just keep going, yeah?" He said before opening the door and leading the two onwards.**

**They entered a small tunnel, with various lights and signs that made it look remarkably like a mineshaft. It seemed deserted until they entered an opening where they could see several infected wandering around. The three of them jumped down and quickly took them out. "Don't suppose you could help with this boulder?" Leon asked Hermione, who quickly looked at the rock blocking their way, and said "Bombarda Maxima." The rock instantly shattered, but jumping down from the ledge and taking it's place was a chainsaw man. This one was different to all the other infected they had seen wielding chainsaws. He ran at the three of them manically, waving a chainsaw that had two blades attached. Sparks flew from the weapon, and Leon instructed Hermione to run while the two men took care of it.**

**She watched as they fired bullet after bullet at the man, who continued to run as if nothing was happening. Hermione tried launching a few curses at the chainsaw man, but he was running in such a haphazard manner that it was difficult to hit him. It wasn't until a near miss with the chainsaw and Luis's head that Hermione grabbed the two boys and apparated them into the next room, quickly locking the door behind them.**

**Leon looked over to Luis, who was panting heavily, and laughed. "What's so funny?" Asked Luis, before reaching his hands up to his head and screaming. "My hair!" **

**Hermione burst into a fit of giggles, but Leon, realizing that it had been the wrong thing to do, quickly nudged her in the side. "You think this funny, senorita? Shall I cut off your hair and see how you feel? Oh, what is Ashley going to think?" Luis fell to the ground, hands covering his face, and Hermione and Leon exchanged nervous glances.**

"**I'll have a look later and see if I can find a spell to fix it," Hermione said quickly. "Ashley won't mind anyway, it's not like it won't grow back."**

"**Look now?" Begged Luis, but Hermione had stopped paying attention to him. Instead she was staring at two large creatures, who had just entered the room.**

"**Trolls," Hermione said faintly, before looking at Leon and nearly crying. The two giants walked heavily towards the three of them, giving a loud roar. "Well we already know my magic won't work against them… It's going to be up to you two.**

**Leon and Luis each picked a troll and began to fire angrily. Though the trolls occasionally winced in pain, their bullets seemed to have little affect.**

**Hermione scanned the room for something she could use as a weapon, and her eyes fell to underneath the trolls' feet. "Keep them where they are!" She shouted at the boys, while running over to a lever that she assumed opened the lava pit.**

**As soon as she reached it, she pulled it down roughly, and she heard a loud splash. "You did it!" Shouted Leon, but a scream from Luis turned both Hermione's and Leon's attention to the Lava pit. A giant arm was reaching for him, and he narrowly escaped being crushed with one of the trolls' hands.**

**He ran over to the other two before using Leon as support to keep him up. "Why is it always me?"**

**Hermione and Leon looked at him before saying at the same time, "welcome to my world."**


	21. Chapter 21

They didn't get a chance to stop for a long time. As soon as they had left the room with the trolls, they ran straight into a room full of the creatures that had killed the merchant and kidnapped Ashley. Leon, Luis and especially Hermione took great pleasure from killing every single one they could find.

"This is for John!" Said Hermione angrily, casting Crucio on one of them and watching it writhe in pain.

At the other side of the room, Luis and Leon were busy shooting down a large group of them. "This is for Ashley," shouted Luis, firing round after round of ammunition into one of the creatures.

When all of the insects were dead, they met up in the middle, laughing about good stress relief. Their smiles didn't last for much longer though, as they saw several heavy looking pillars that were slamming to the ground with immense force. "Do you want me to apperate us past them?" Asked Hermione nervously, and the two men nodded.

They appeared in front of a stone lift, which took them outside. "Been a while since we last saw daylight," commented Hermione, who was pleased to be out in the fresh air.

"I wouldn't exactly call it daylight," said Leon, though he too sounded pleased about being outdoors. "There's a building over there, do you want to take a break." He looked at the other two before laughing "maybe you can Fin something for Luis' hair problem, Hermione?"

Luis seemed extremely happy with this plan, and Hermione agreed they deserved a break. "If you boys make something to eat, I'll start looking through the books."

She set the wards before conjuring a chair and picking up a book on glamour spells. As she was flicking through the pages on hair, a certain spell caught her attention. She pointed her wand at Leon before whispering the incantation. When the spell took affect she couldn't help but burst into a fit of giggles.

"What's up with you?" Leon asked curiously, before Luis also started laughing.

"You may want to look in a mirror Leon," Luis told him, trying to keep his laughter to a minimum. He passed Leon a small hand mirror.

"Mione!" Shouted Leon angrily, "you were supposed to fix his hair, not ruin mine!"

Hermione started to laugh again. "Fine, I'll change it." She looked in her book for the counter spell, but then had an even better idea. She said another spell, and Leon checked the mirror again.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Asked Leon, who was now sporting pigtails.

Luis and Hermione laughed. "It suits you." Hermione told him, before receiving a glare and quickly changing Leon's hair back to normal. "Sorry, now I think I've found a spell to make your hair come back," she said, turning to Luis. Another wave of her wand had Leon doubled over in stitches.

"What did you do?" Luis asked a grinning Hermione. He grabbed the mirror back from Leon and began to scream. "Change. It. Back." He said slowly, trying to contain his anger.

"Not so funny when it's you on the receiving end is it?" Leon asked Luis, who was looking mortified. His hair had grown back, but was now a neon green.

Hermione gave another quick laugh before changing Luis' hair colour back. "There, all better."

"Not quite," said Luis. "Leon, grab her!"

Leon tackled Hermione gently and she fell to the ground. He pinned her there, allowing Luis to tickle her.

"Let me go!" She squealed, unable to stifle her giggles.

"Never!" Laughed Leon, before beginning to tickle her himself.

They spent the night in the building, before heading down into another mine shaft. They had only been there for five minutes before a familiar sound made Leon tremble slightly. "Not more chainsaws."

Hermione smiled, and started speaking. "I had a feeling there might be more of them. Which is why I made you both these." She went into her bad and pulled out two guns.

"Are these handcannons?" Asked Luis, sounding both Happy and shocked.

"Not just any handcannons. These have been upgraded to fuck. Mione, what's the firepower on these things?"

"I think it said 99.9. They're the most powerful weapons other than rocket launchers." Hermione told him grinning.

Leon turned to Luis, before smiling widely and saying, "do you fancy going chainsaw hunting?"

The two men disappeared, and the sound of gunshot rung through the room. Hermione spotted a few infected nearby and quickly killed them. When the two men returned, they headed through to the next room. "Hermione, I love you," Leon told her, still smiling about the weapon in his hand.

"Only because I made them for you," she said quietly.

"No, I really do love you. Not for them, but for you." Leon told her, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you too."

It wasn't long before the three of them were stood in a cart, heading down into the depths of the mine shaft. They each took a compartment of the cart, and raised their weapons to kill any infected that were waiting to attack.

Their plan worked well until they were stopped in another room of the mine. One of the infected had pulled a switch to stop the cart from continuing, meaning that each of them had some very close encounters with infected, as well as Luis being trapped in a compartment with another chainsaw wielding man. His handcannon took quick work of him though, and after a shot to the lever they were headed off down the mine again.

They picked a few more infected off on their journey, before a new problem arose. "We're going to fall straight down when the track cuts off!" Shouted Luis.

"No we're not. Grab on!" Replied Hermione, who quickly apparated them to the place the track should have led to.

The three of them fell to the floor panting. "Is my hair ok?" Asked Luis, obviously concerned after that other chainsaw had got too close for comfort.

"It's fine," laughed Hermione. They picked themselves back up and headed out of the mine shaft, collecting the "sacrifice" they had risked their lives for.

The three of them had just arrived into a large room, courtesy of the lift behind the lion door. There they found a massive statue of Salazar.

"Hind of creepy, huh?" Said Leon, gazing up at the statue in trepidation. "Let's just out of here before something bad happens."

Almost as soon as he spoke, the bridge to the exit sank into the water. "Come on," said Hermione, grabbing the two boys and apparating to the other side. As soon as they reappeared, a rumble echoed across the room.

"I don't think Salazar was too happy about us taking shortcuts," Luis said. The statue that was now across the room had started taking large steps through the water towards them. "Lets get out of here."

Hermione spelled open the lock on the door, and the three of them rushed through it. They weren't outside for long when the statue smashed through the wall and continued towards them.

They ran for mere moments before their escape options severely decreased. "We're going to have to apperate again," Hermione told the boys while pointing to the gap between them and their way out. Once again she grabbed the boys and disappeared with a crack. They stood across from the statue, who began to trip and fall through the gap in the bridge.

When they opened the door that lay ahead, they were greeted by the amused face of Salazar.


	22. Chapter 22

"How nice of you to join us, Mr Scott Kennedy. I see you've brought friends." The smile on Salazar's face was sickeningly sweet as he spoke. "The sacred rite that's about to begin in this tower will endow the girl with special powers, she will become one of us."

"This is no ritual, it's terrorism!" Shouted Leon angrily at the man, but Salazar just continued to laugh.

"Isn't that a popular word these days. Don't worry Mr Kennedy, we have a special ritual for you and your… friends," he said as he raised his hand in dismissal of what Leon had said.

Leon reached quickly to his knife and aimed it perfectly at Salazar's hand, pinning it to the wall. "Owies!" Said Salazar, crying out in pain.

The hooded guard on Salazar's left had side quickly removed the knife from the bleeding hand, and threw it straight back at Leon, who dodged it with ease.

Salazar continued to yelp before he summoned his followers away into an elevator, presumably to the tower where the ritual would take place.

Leon, Luis and Hermione quickly ran to follow him. They ran up the spiral staircase, not stopping for anything until Luis nearly got hit with a barrel. Luckily he had seen it rolling down the staircase towards them, and had rushedly shot it before it could collide with him.

From then on, they kept their eyes out for any incoming barrels. There was only one other, which was promptly shot. When they reached the infected that had been sending them down the stairs, Luis took pleasure from blowing their heads off.

Once they had reached the lift to take them up, they each took corners ready to kill any attackers. On the way up around twenty infected had tried to stop them, but the power from Leon and Luis' weapons had quickly killed them.

When they arrived at the highest point they could using that lift, they rushed over to another one that took them right to the top of the tower. This led them to a set of large doors that presumably held Ashley. When they entered the door they saw Salazar stood at an alter, but no sign of Ashley. The walls were covered with some kind of plant that was throbbing wildly.

"Ah, you just missed her," said Salazar with a smile. "The ritual is over. She left with my men to an island." Salazar then stood still, allowing himself and his accompanying guard to be encased by the plant covering the walls. He gave a high pitched cackle, as the plant transformed the pair of them into a large menacing creature.

"Monsters," said Leon disgustedly. "Guess after this there'll be one less to worry about."

Luis and Leon tried firing at Salazar, but the tentacles waving around him were proving a tough obstacle. They thrashed around wildly, one of them knocking Hermione down into a pit. Leon was about to rescue her when Hermione shouted up she was fine, letting the two boys continue to try and kill the monster.

Hermione tried a range of spells, but they were having little impact, so instead she tried searching for a weakness. "Try shooting the eyeball," she shouted at the two boys, before looking up and seeing the tentacle that bore the eyeball shrink back in pain after a bullet hit it directly in the pupil.

A cracking noise alerted her attention to the fact Salazar was now visible, and she threw a killing curse at him. There wasn't even a scream, as Salazar began to shrivel up, himself and the plant both dissapearing before her very eyes.

"You did it!" Shouted Leon, jumping down to Hermione and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Well done senorita."

Hermione blushed, but knowing that she wasn't the only one to thank for their quick defeat of Salazar, she scolded the other two for not praising themselves as well.

"We could have been at it for ages if you hadn't found it's weakness," said Leon. "But we can talk about this later. I think we should take a break."

"Too right," commented Luis. "It's been too long since I had some sleep."

They abseiled down the tower, and took shelter in a small underground cavern. Hermione set the wards and then decided to let the boys have the night off from cooking.

"I don't mind doing it," she said reassuringly to Leon, who was telling her to rest. "You and Luis are always the ones stuck doing it." She fumbled in her bag before bringing out a few pans and resting them over a magically lit fire, leaving the men to talk.


	23. Chapter 23

"So what's going on between you and Ashley then?" Leon asked Luis, causing him to blush.

"Well you know the ladies, can't resist a bit of Luis lovin'."

Leon laughed. "Hermione seemed to manage alright."

A scowl appeared on Luis' face before quickly turning back into a grin. "Well she has you senoir, and besides, she's not my normal type."

"I thought anything with legs would be your normal type," grinned Leon.

"Nah, I flirt but that's where I draw the line. I'd never get serious with just anyone."

"Ashley's not just anyone then?" Asked Leon, "I'll make sure to leave out the fact you're a womanizer when her dad grills me about you then?"

"Much appreciated," smiled Luis. "Now let's see what that gorgeous smell is."

After a big meal, they all settled into the beds Hermione had once again conjured. Leon and Hermione shared a bed, and though Hermione didn't plan for anything to happen, she set some silencing charms on the bed.

"So once we're out here, what's going to happen to us?" Hermione asked Leon as she laid on his chest.

"I was thinking about that," replied Leon. "I have to make sure Ashley gets home safe, but then I was thinking about maybe coming to live in England. Until the next zombie outbreak anyway."

"Do you mean… Get a place together?" Asked Hermione, who could hardly contain her excitement at the thought of Leon moving to England.

"If that's what you want. You don't have to feel pressured."

"I'd love that!" Grinned Hermione. "I've been thinking about getting my own place ever since I got given a fortune from the ministry for helping to kill Voldemort." Hermione yawned and Leon pulled the cover over the two of them.

"Get yourself to sleep," he told her. "We have to find this island tomorrow."

"Sounds like an adventure in itself," muttered Hermione sleepily. She snuggled up tighter to Leon and let sleep take her.

When they awoke they set off straight away. After a night of rest, they once again felt motivated enough to get back out and face whatever else was waiting for them. Though Hermione was completely puzzled as to how they were going to find Ashley, they only had to walk for a short amount of time before they found a way to the island.

"Need a ride handsome?" Asked a beautiful woman in red, who was obviously aiming her question at Leon. Hermione moved herself closer to Leon and wrapped an arm around his waist. "Don't worry," the woman smiled. "Any friend of Leon's…"

"Ok," agreed Leon. The two men and Hermione climbed into the boat, and the woman immediately took off. "Luis, Mione… This is Ada," introduced Leon. "Ada this is-"

"Luis and Mione, I get it."

"So what are you doing here?" Hermione asked Ada, still unsure of the woman.

"Wanting to know if you can trust me," laughed Ada. "Well I'm not here for as noble reasons as your friend Leon if that's what you mean." She swerved the boat roughly as the island came into sight, and quickly grapple-hooked her way out of the boat. "Got some business to take care of. See you round."

"Women," laughed Leon, and Hermione once again started to feel jealous.

"Just who was she?" Asked Hermione, trying to keep her voice as normal as possible.

"She's like a part of me I can't let go. Let's just leave it at that."

They spent the next few minutes in silence, as Hermione steered the boat to a small inlet where they could disembark. The first thing to break the silence was the crackle of Leon's radio. "Sadler," Leon said nonchalantly into the radio. "I hate to break it to you but Salazar's dead. Why don't you just give up and let Ashley come home?"

"It seems like you're disillusioned with overconfidence, just because you killed my small-time subordinate," came the reply from the radio.

"Sadler, you're small time!" Leon told him angrily.

A chuckle buzzed from the radio, "writhe in my cage of torment." With that, the contact closed.


End file.
